Oleksandr Eremin, a physiotherapist, rehabilitation specialist, and founder of the Eremin Center rehabilitation center, told LDaily about the peculiarities of transitioning the rehabilitation center to the military rails, his own method, current business challenges, and his vocation, especially – the social responsibility of rehabilitation specialists.
LDaily: How did the idea of founding the ” Eremin Center ” come about? What services does it provide?
O. Eremin: In the past, I was a professional athlete, but due to injuries, I had to quit sports. However, I worked with our Kyiv trauma doctor, and he directed me to Germany, so I went to Munich to study rehabilitation. I lived there for a sufficient amount of time, studied, returned here, and began to practice rehabilitation. Having familiarized myself with Kyiv’s medical centers, I realized that there were no analogs in Kyiv to what I had been taught in Germany. That’s how I started developing my business. There were a lot more people in the center. So, I realized that I needed to assemble a team, train them according to my vision of rehabilitation and, in particular, physio-rehabilitation. In this way, the center has been operating for almost 10 years now.
LDaily: How many people are currently on your team?
O. Eremin: I currently have a staff of 30 people. With the war, the flow of people needing treatment has probably increased eightfold. Because we are now rehabilitating soldiers for free. Every month from each hospital – we get 10-12 patients. And we have ten hospitals. Only on a permanent basis, 100-120 people are engaged.
LDaily: Why did you choose the path of a physiotherapist?
O. Eremin: Because I myself experienced injuries, I myself was recovering – I tested everything on myself. I had a fairly significant “experience” in this: four operations on the knee, one on the shoulder, trepanation of the skull… All this time I had to recover by myself every time. And then I asked myself: why not organize treatment competently, why not learn it fully and, plus with my experience, implement it?!
LDaily: What inspires you in your profession?
O. Eremin: I’m inspired by results. When I see a person who couldn’t walk or move their arm, and thanks to our work – they could. Recently, we had a patient, a soldier. He came to me because an explosion had completely torn off his buttocks and half of his hip. The nerves were not affected, so he was able to walk. I asked: what’s your dream? He replies: my dream is to just sit and watch TV. And we made it happen. So when I see that a person is sitting, eating, hugging me – it’s the best thanks, because I can see the result.
LDaily: You mentioned that you currently have a team of 30 employees. Is it difficult to find specialists in Ukraine?
O. Eremin: For me, human qualities are very important. There are a lot of professionals on the market right now – it seems every fifth or sixth person wants to be a rehabilitator. The quality of the professionals is another matter, and it lags behind… So I try to take people even with the smallest experience – from the institute or when the specialist has worked somewhere for a month or two or even a year in their profession – so that I can then pass on my vision, my system, so that they can become a team player. Because in my center, each specialist performs a specific task. Not a general specialist, masseur, trainer, physiotherapist, etc., but a narrowly specialized one: someone does a certain type of massage, someone does physical procedures, someone does acupuncture, someone does 3D movements from the back, etc. So each specialist is like a screw in a huge machine that operates, and he specifically works locally and in the right place.
LDaily: What experience do you have working with patients with various diseases and injuries? What ailments do people most often come to you with?
O. Eremin: Currently, it’s about everything related to the musculoskeletal system. All types of arthroscopy after surgery. All types of fractures. All types of spinal injuries, hernias, protrusions, etc. At present, due to the situation in the country – blast injuries, limb paralysis, even amputations, nerve paralysis. I had to open books, notebooks, online courses, and quickly, promptly learn. Then – through practice, practice, and practice (because there are a lot of patients) you gain colossal experience and knowledge. Then you fix everything, write it down and create your own technique, which starts to work and helps people.
LDaily: What is the minimum and maximum term for rehabilitation?
O. Eremin: What is rehabilitation in general? With someone, it’s enough to just talk, show that he or she can – and the problem can be solved in one meeting. But there may be some somatic problems due to stress and spasms. People often have back pain, but the real reason is that they simply can’t relax, fall asleep, because cortisol is elevated, etc. And there are, of course, physiological, mechanical problems that require years of rehabilitation – a year, two, even three. There are congenital injuries, and they also need to be somehow corrected, adapted to life.
LDaily: How do you assist patients with rehabilitation after injuries and surgeries? What exactly do you do? What exercises, massages?
O. Eremin: First, we carry out diagnostics. Then we draw up a rehabilitation schedule, i.e., what we will be doing with the patient. In accordance with this schedule, we then apply all the innovative technologies that exist in the world. We have special internodes, magnets, lasers, induction magnets, we apply pressotherapy, salt lines… My center has all the innovative techniques that exist in the world.
LDaily: How do you evaluate your results with a patient?
O. Eremin: I believe that my team is currently, probably, the best in Ukraine. Because we help people about 80% out of 100%. What is 20%? 10% is that they like our interior, where the center itself is located. Another 10% like how they are communicated with. But if we consider work, then 80% is our job, and no patient has left without a result.
LDaily: How do you organize your workday to be effective and successful at work? What time do you start, what time do you finish?
O. Eremin: I wake up around 6:30-7:00. I always take a contrast shower to cheer up, to have a surge of energy. I must have breakfast — I give a lot of energy at work, so you can’t go without breakfast. Then I kiss my wife, children, get in the car, turn on the music and go to work in a good mood.
LDaily: And this is every day from Monday to Friday?
O. Eremin: Every day… And how do I diversify everyday life? I download different playlists, listen to different music, dream about something. Then there is some variety. I have many patients “on departure” — this is when I come to their home or hospitals and help. They often specifically call in different places.
LDaily: What’s the maximum number of patients you see in a day?
O. Eremin: In the center, virtually every patient goes through me. I consult everyone, say what their program is today and what they will be doing. I had a record — 212 people in a day!
LDaily: And you managed?
O. Eremin: I managed. However, when I finally come home, I don’t even have the strength to communicate with my family… I just sit, pass out and that’s all.
LDaily: Back in March last year, your center offered free rehabilitation to all military personnel and participants in military actions. How many of them have turned to your center during this time?
O. Eremin: A lot. Maybe 200-300 people.
LDaily: And it’s free?
O. Eremin: Yes.
LDaily: What injuries did they most often come with?
O. Eremin: Mostly shrapnel wounds. Because when nerves, fragments are torn away, a contracture, surgery is needed accordingly. Atrophy of the deep muscle, atrophy of the ligament apparatus… All this needs to be restored. It’s hard.
LDaily: How prepared were you for rehabilitation after such injuries?
O. Eremin: I was not prepared at all. I wasn’t prepared for the war at all. And when it started, I even got a little lost – I couldn’t figure out what to do in life at such a time. My wife was also pregnant – she was giving birth in a basement, although the best maternity hospital in Ukraine had been paid for. And I realized that I had to pull myself together and act. And literally in the third week of the war, everyone started calling me and saying: Sasha, help, we put on body armor, started running, everyone’s backs, knees, etc., started to fall out, what to do? Really, what to do? They have never run with such weight in their lives. They put on helmets, strapped on weapons – and everything immediately popped out in the cervical region. Legs started to go numb, fingers. It’s very difficult for the military – you need to have unreal physical preparation. I believe that the Ministry of Defense needs to pay more attention to rehabilitation. Teach soldiers not only to shoot, run, but also to perform some rehabilitation activities, to prepare the body for such stress and load.
LDaily: Are there patrons who donate to the development of your center?
O. Eremin: Of course there are. The city administration has helped us, the city mayor. Many deputies provide help from time to time, as well as ordinary people who see that we are helping for free. The most important thing for me is equipment, so I ask everyone to just purchase necessary things – consumables, various magnets, bandages, devices, stimulators, etc. There’s no need to help with money, the need is for equipment.
LDaily: What are your plans for the development of the center? Do you plan to expand the business, for example, in other regions of Ukraine or possibly even in the world?
O. Eremin: Yes, there are now many relevant proposals. They call from different cities and offer: let’s open a franchise. However, what was the most significant idea of the ” Eremin Center”? “Eremin Center” is quality. Opening franchises is no longer about quality, it’s more about business. I, as a businessman, live, do my job qualitatively, and everything in my life is good. I have a house, apartments, cars – I am a relatively rich person in this country. But to become only a businessman, to “cut” money on this more globally and on a larger scale, while losing a good name – I do not want that. I want to have one center, but it should be the best in Europe, in the world. We have crazy practices, very professional specialists. To do all this at a high level – yes.
